More Miami Immigration Fraud: INS Officer Involved

Guys, this one really made me sad, because it involved a Miami
INS agent. It had been a long time since I'd seen direct
accusations of an INS agent for scamming, and you know how
vigorously I defend my friends at the agency. But news is news,
so here goes.

According to a February 25 article in the Miami Herald,
Jose Luis Cintron, a Miami INS Official, was rubber-stamping
permanent residency approvals for false marriages while working
with a paralegal matchmaker, sharing in the $5K to $10K fees
being charged to those involved. Cintron, who reportedly earned
$55K a year, would skip the normal anti-fraud interview and just
issue a quick approval. INS agents recovered $100K in cash from
his North Miami home when he was arrested late Friday night;
after that, they seized another $100K in cash and checks - plus a
$20K Rolex - from the home of the accused partner, Guillermo
Rico. The North Miami Beach home also served as an office for
Mr. Rico's business, exquisitely named, naturally:

" Justice Paralegal Service."

Here's how it allegedly worked: because Cubans are beneficiaries
of the Cuban Adjustment Act, they automatically get green cards
one year after arriving in the United States, assuming they don't
commit any crimes or are otherwise not found ineligible. If that
Cuban gets married to someone before filing for permanent
residency, the spouse gets the residency too. Accordingly,
Cintron and Rico (whose name, by the way, means "rich" in
Spanish) would find a non-Cuban Hispanic to marry a Cuban who was
close to getting his or her permanent residency via Cuban
Adjustment. PRESTO! Two for one happy hour at Justice
Paralegal Service, where everybody wins!

Well, not Mr. Cintron and Mr. Rico, who is suddenly Mr. "Pobre"
(that's Spanish for "poor," in case you didn't figure that out).
According to INS Section Chief John Woods, Mr. Cintron has been
involved in at least 500 cases since he began reviewing residency
applications in 1999. Before that, he had worked at Miami
International Airport as an inspector since 1991. Says Woods:

"We're looking at everything he touched."

Oh-oh, what do you think, guys? Does this sound like another one
of those situations where the "poor victims" might just be
likely to get something they deserve?

So how did they find out about this incredible scheme? Last
summer, according to The Herald, investigators used a
confidential Miami-Dade police informant who approached Rico
about setting up a sham marriage and obtaining the legal
residency through Cintron. Rico, like the creative attorney I
told you about whose office was right near our old office, took
care of the fabrication of fake papers including utility bills,
lease arrangements, etc. Cintron got $3K, the spouse got $3K,
and $4K went to Mr. Rico. For $10K, permanent residency in the
United States. According to the complaint, two other
"cooperating" sources cut similar deals with Mr. Rico.

I'll say it one more time, guys: good immigration attorneys can
pretty much always find ways to do things legally, and I bet you
that almost all of these folks could have found a willing
employer to do a skilled worker EB-3 labor certification for
them. For $5K, Kim and Lorenzo could process that labor
certification, and they would continue their invisible existence
in Miami as illegal aliens until 245(i) happened, as their cases
slowly cooked on the back burner. And odds are excellent that
some incarnation of a 245(i) extension will happen, allowing a
remedy for their overstay.

In other words, most of these folks, had they found their way to
us, would've had a real chance at LEGAL permanent residency and
would have been very happy to convey such benefits upon their
family members. Now, not only are they going to lose their green
cards once Assistant U.S. Attorney Marvelle McIntyre-Hull
finishes the review of every single residency application ever
approved by Cintron, but there will be a finding in the record of
each individual involved which will preclude them from
ever being able to get residency in the United States, for
the rest of their lives.

It's called fraud, and all it got them for their
$10K was a dumb crook with a nice watch, the latter currently
sitting in a federal evidence locker.

About The Author

Jose Latour is the founding partner
of Latour & Lleras, P.A., a
Gainesville, Florida based business immigration practice representing
corporations nationwide in visa management, compliance, and HR
training. The above represents Mr. Latour's Editorial opinion. The
A/V rated firm and its web site, www.usvisanews.com, were named
a winner of the 2002 Inc. Magazine Web Award, receiving
recognition along with 14 other companies as the best Web companies
in America. In 1999, the firm was named "One of America’s
Top Ten Internet/Virtual Companies" in the Inc. Magazine
and Cisco Systems "Growing with Technology Awards." The site is one of the
most visited and widely read resource on the Internet on U.S.
immigration law, attracting subscribers from all over the world, the
media and from within the U.S. government. Mr. Latour served as a
U.S. Diplomatic and Consular Officer in Mexico and Africa before
entering private practice and today divides his time between his law
practice, writing, flying, and his music.

The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinion of ILW.COM.